Latest

Even though some may consider having a bad trip as normal, wouldn’t it be amazing if a person could learn how cannabis affects them before they even tried it? No more anxiety attacks, paranoia, bodily discomfort… a world without bad cannabis trips.

Lobo Genetics, a Toronto-based healthcare technology company, claims it has the answer: DNA testing. The startup, founded in 2018, announced last November Charles Sousa, Ontario’s former finance minister, was joining the board.

“When we look at the available data on how cannabis might react person-to-person, it’s not entirely useful as the information is largely anecdotal,” says John Lem, CEO of Lobo Genetics. Cannabis affects people differently: Some may have the best time of their life; others might feel trapped in a downward spiral. “But by better understanding your genetic markup, it can be a completely different experience. There has been a lot of focus on the genetics of plants, but not many are talking about what the impact on the users is like,” Lem adds.

Similar to the immensely popular 23andMe, a California-based genomics and biotech company, Lobo Genetics aims to help people understand their response to recreational cannabis through a DNA test.

Costing $59, the test helps determine an individual’s tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) genetic profile through a cheek swab. As per a 2019 study using rats by Western University in London, Ont., THC, a cannabis compound known for its mind-altering effects, plays a key role in an individual’s psychological reactions to cannabis.

The four-inch cube used to process the test kits at Lobo Genetics.

The conclusion of the DNA analysis is followed by a curated list of products based on the individual’s profile, with strain listings being linked directly to government-run platforms like Ontario Cannabis Store, where interested users can make a purchase.

The results of the DNA tests are delivered within a couple of days and can be accessed through a smartphone. The profile provides information on sensitivity to THC by examining reactivity to three genes:

CYP2C9 produces an enzyme that helps break down THC in the body. The test can reveal if a person is a normal, slow or a very slow metabolizer of THC. A slow metabolizer profile, for instance, will feel the effects of cannabis through sublingual, vaping or smoking for a longer duration and at a slightly higher intensity.

AKT1 has been linked to causing psychosis in regular cannabis users. The test evaluates normal, intermediate and high risk when evaluating cannabis interaction with this gene. Results indicating “high risk” mean a person can experience short-term psychotic symptoms and long-term psychosis from THC.

COMT affects memory and cognitive functions. A high-risk profile indicates a person may experience impairments that could include short-term memory loss, poor reaction time, and difficulty paying attention.

John Lem, CEO of Lobo Genetics. The company was founded in 2018 and later that year announced the addition of Charles Sousa, former Ontario finance minister, to the board.

No stranger to the genetic space, Lem has over 15 years of experience in the industry. He is also the co-founder of Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience, a sample-to-result DNA testing system. Spartan Bioscience unveiled what it calls the “world’s smallest DNA tester,” a four-inch DNA testing cube, in 2016, that can test for a range of human diseases in less than half an hour. Licensing the technology from Spartan, similar-looking four-inch cubes are used to process the test kits at Lobo Genetics.

When it comes to the target audience, the service appeals mostly to adults under the age of 45. “It’s skewing towards couples. Recreational cannabis is often consumed socially, and we are finding that people want to know how they respond,” he says. “Parents are also keen to learn more. They are concerned about people in their lives that are using cannabis who are in universities, or mid- to late 20s, and they want to understand better.”

Lobo Genetics is in the process of developing CBD genetic test kits. Meanwhile, the THC kits are available for purchase online and in select stores in Alberta.

The wholesale market for legal cannabis is marked by great regional variation, but the oversupply that has sent prices plummeting in Oregon and other Western states has not been able to dampen the general upswing on the national level. 

Amid stratospheric hopes for the industry’s growth, there have been growing fears of a market correction. An account on Motley Fool notes that investment bank Stifel foresees $200 billion in global annual adult-market and medical cannabis sales within a decade — amounting to a compound annual growth rate of nearly 34%. In addition, the U.S. is projected to generate between a third and a half of worldwide legal sales within that same timeframe.

But the report warns that the famous oversupply in Colorado, Washington and especially Oregon —itself  “a result of everyone wanting in on cannabis” — may be undermining the dream.

Regional and Seasonal Variation

In response to the flooded market, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) announced in May that it was to suspend the processing of license applications as of June 15. Back in January, the OLCC reported that the state was producing two times more cannabis than was being consumed —with more than six years’ worth of supply wasting away at farms, warehouses and retail outlets.

The market reaction to overproduction is noted by New Frontier Data. Hardly surprisingly, Oregon saw a 64% decline in wholesale prices from October 2016 to March 2019, while Colorado experienced a 60% drop from January 2015 to April 2019. However, the “downward slides in wholesale prices are not linear, but in both cases reflected seasonality.” Prices partially recovered in both states in the second and third quarter of this year. And in March, Oregon wholesale prices matched Colorado’s for the first time.

The report notes that a moment of reckoning looms with the approaching harvest season in Oregon (more of an issue than in Colorado where only indoor is permitted). “Will it lead to further price declines, or are prices in both Colorado and Oregon bottoming out?”
 
As New Frontier Data’s vice president Beau Whitney writes in an analysis for Bezinga this week, “Oregon’s woes are directly attributable to the (originally unlimited) number of licensed cultivators in its program.” Whereas Colorado had guarded itself against glut by requiring any growers applying for an increase in capacity to demonstrate proven demand for their previous crop.

In Colorado, where legalization took effect in 2014, it took until 2017 for the state’s legal market to effectively absorb the pre-existing illicit market, with legal supply effectively meeting demand. This more cautious approach has led to a somewhat more stable market.

On a national level, Cannabis Benchmarks finds that the simple average wholesale price increased $65 to $1,557 per pound by August this year. The lower prices in the western states are in part offset those on the East Coast. Marijuana Business Daily, citing interviews with local industry leaders, reports a range from $2,000 a pound for the medical market in Maryland to as high as $4,200 per pound for the adult-use market in Massachusetts. This contrasts Colorado, where last month the wholesale price stood at $850.

There is also a considerable price differential between indoor (the most highly valued), greenhouse-grown (the middle range) and outdoor (least valued, however disappointing this news will be to its hardcore aficionados). 

As Cannabis Benchmarks writes: “California’s market has seen a surge of sun-grown supply recently as light-deprivation harvests are dried, trimmed, and brought to market… In contrast, Oregon and Washington state reported transaction stats indicate that wholesale buyers continue to favor indoor flower this summer, with increasing relative volumes of such product helping to push up Spot prices in those markets.”

In 2017, the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Poison Control Center received 40,724 phone calls, according to government statistics: harried school nurses, baffled physicians, and worried members of the general public wondering what you do when someone ingests a bottle of something they ought not have.

Of these calls, 3,832 — or fewer than 10% — resulted in a visit to the emergency room, though 5,399, or about one in eight, resulted in a hospitalization. Still, two-thirds of “poisonings” in these two states were handled successfully at home, work, school, or wherever the toxin was ingested.

What are people eating or drinking? Drugs, mostly. Fifty-six percent of poison-control center calls — more than 20,000 incidents — resulted from exposure to analgesics, antidepressants, sedatives and anti-psychotics, cardiovascular drugs and antihistamines. Cosmetics, pesticides, industrial-strength cleaners, plants and the occasional swallowed toy made up the other 44%, according to Mass.gov.

Parsing these statistics, one could conclude that many common household items are bad and/or dangerous and ought to be handled with more care. Pharmaceutical drugs seem particularly dangerous — worse than bleach and motor oil and even cell phones!

It would take a certain type of myopia or fanaticism to ignore all that and worry instead about a substance that led to 37 calls — or 0.0925% of the total. Yet that’s exactly what Massachusetts media outlets did last week, led by The Boston Globe and a particularly alarmist article in the Journal of American Medicine.

Of course, those 37 calls involved cannabis.

Thirty-seven times since November 2018, when recreational cannabis shops finally opened up in Massachusetts, someone called poison control to report a child under 5 years old had ingested cannabis.

Here’s the Globe:

The numbers jumped from 13 calls about children 5 and younger ingesting marijuana from December 2017 to June 2018 to 37 calls from December 2018 through June, which is more than one call a week.

Overall, calls about these very young children accounted for more than 25 percent of all the marijuana-related calls the center recorded in those seven months, compared with just 14 percent during the same period in 2018. The total number of marijuana calls to the poison control center rose by more than 58 percent.

Social scientists would call these jumps “statistically significant.” And they are, in an extremely narrowly focused context. This would still seem to be an example of a nearly invisible problem becoming ever-so-slightly less minuscule. Yet it was the availability of cannabis edibles, and how to keep them away from children, that led the Globe’s front page on Aug. 17 — not exposure to any of the hazardous substances that make up thousands or even hundreds of calls.

“We can’t believe all these children who are going to the hospital and have to be admitted to the intensive care unit because they are so lethargic their parents are unable to wake them up, or they’re reporting seizure-like activity,” Adina Sheroff, a registered nurse and poison specialist who works at the poison-control center told The Globe, whose reporter appears to have worked extra hard to find alarmists — of which there were plenty available!

“We do consider having edibles available to a child similar to putting alcohol in a baby bottle,” said Heather Forkey, a physician and director of the child protection program at UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center told the newspaper.

Readers of this publication likely need no explanation as to why the alcohol analogy is foolish and irresponsible. Alcohol kills many thousands of Americans every year; cannabis still kills nobody. As for the fate of these children, the Globe doesn’t say, but it’s likely they turned out just fine.

Between 2009 and 2016, the poison-control center received 218 calls regarding cannabis, according to research recently published in JAMA. And “in terms of medical outcomes, most of the exposures resulted in moderate and minor effects,” according to JAMA. “Four cases with major effects and no deaths were reported.”

It’s very hard to make a case that a major “poisoning” every other year represents a threat to public safety. What the increase does represent, experts like Sheroff told the Globe, is a clear cultural shift with more cannabis products available and adults taking poor care in securing them.

That seems true and troubling, for the parents as much as anyone else; one doctor told the Globe that she reports all such incidents to child-welfare officials. But again, zooming out at the bigger picture, it’s difficult to make an intellectually honest case that cannabis is the problem to focus on here.

The cannabis-related statistic is tiny, insignificant compared to the threats posed by other far more toxic and far more widely available items.

Focusing on weed in this scenario is sort of like publishing a story about a Hong Kong traffic jam rather than the ongoing protests there, or a special report about trash floating in the Amazon while the rainforest burns down. These are issues, issues that people may even care about; there are far more pressing things right in front of you that escape scrutiny.

Responsible cannabis use is absolutely something to work towards, but it seems impossible to prevent all accidental cannabis exposures without draconian, invasive, or unworkable prohibitions. (Reporting parents who report their children’s exposures to DCF may incentivize parents to simply not seek medical attention; then what?) What instances like this reveal, rather than public-health threats, is ideology. And this was a diagnosis made decades ago.

The pot stocks have been fueled by the number of investments being done on a widespread scale. Not only does this pertain to acquisitions, but the number of investors looking to purchase cannabis stocks as well. All of this has led to one of the friendliest investor markets for finding pot stocks to watch. 

With projections for the cannabis stock market showing billions in revenue in the coming years, we have a lot of good to potentially look forward to. This seems to be extremely contingent on the performance of the market and how well the current deals being made, can go. With that being said, the future of the cannabis stock market seems to be just as bright as the present. 

A Pot Stock Investment Company to Watch 

SOL Global Investments Corp. (SOL) (SOLCF Stock Report) is a cannabis investment stock working out of both the international and domestic market within the U.S. The company works in the hemp and CBD market which has proven itself to be quite lucrative. The company is currently working on a research and development project with the esteemed University of Miami. 

The goal with this is to form a comprehensive approach to building out a brand for the future of the industry and SOL Global Investments. As a leading investment company in the pot stock market, SOL Global Investments is responsible for locating high quality assets around the cannabis stock industry. The company has chosen to work in the European market as well which they have seen a lot of growth potential in. For now, they remain a key pot stock to watch. 

A Big Investment for SOL Global Investments 

The company recently announced that they have invested around $2 million in a capital infusion into CannCure Investments Inc. This investment should see the two companies working to accelerate the construction of their newest One Plant dispensaries located in California. 

For those who don’t know, the Californian marijuana stock market is the largest in the world and looks like it could continue to be that way moving forward. Wit this investment, SOL Global Investments will also indirectly hold 100% of 3 Boys Farms, LLC. This company is a holder of three vertically integrated medicinal marijuana treatment center licenses which is a big deal. All in all, SOL Global Investments remains a key pot stock to watch. 

A Big Pot Grower to Watch 

Aurora Cannabis (ACB Stock Report) is one of the largest pot stock growers in the industry. The company has stated that they have the potential to out out as much as 625,000 kilograms of output by the end of June of 2020. With this production, they should become one of the top three producers in the whole of the market. 

The company has been able to scale up their operation with a massive amount of growth efficiency. In their one facility known as Aurora Sky, they have put able to put out around 125 grams per square foot. This is way above the average yield, and makes them a definite marijuana stock to watch.

Anyone who has ever seen a loved one losing themselves to conditions that come with age – such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia – know how hard it can be for everyone involved. It’s heartbreaking to watch someone you care about struggle to grasp thoughts, memories and concepts. But what if there were a potential treatment? Right now, at best, we have options that slow down the degeneration of cells and brain function. However, a recent study suggests that THC, the most well-known active cannabinoid in cannabis, could reverse the brain’s aging process in low doses. 

The study, published in back in May and conducted by scientists at the University of Bonn with colleagues from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), used mice as their subjects. These mice were all between 12 and 18 months of age and were broken into two groups. The first group was given low doses of THC daily for a total of four weeks, while the second group received a placebo. 

“It looked as though the THC treatment turned back the molecular clock,” says Professor Andreas Zimmer.

Researchers found that the mice treated with a daily low dose of THC showed signs of reversed brain aging. This included noticeable improvements in memory and other age-related brain problems, like learning and cognitive speed. The researchers also looked at the brain tissue and gene activity, which now resembled that of 2-month-old mice. The mice who received the placebo, however, continued to show the expected signs of aging. 

“The promotion of knowledge-led research is indispensable, as it is the breeding ground for all matters relating to application. Although there is a long path from mice to humans, I feel extremely positive about the prospect that THC could be used to treat dementia, for instance.”

Things are changing in the world of medicine as we continue to learn about the endocannabinoid system – which, until fairly recently, was somewhat of a mystery. While research in the U.S. might still be difficult to accomplish due to federal prohibition, there are parts of the world – like Israel – where scientists are able and willing to work on better understanding how cannabis can be used to our benefit. In this case, the endocannabinoid system appears to play a significant role in changes in brain function as we age – and adding low doses of THC on a regular basis could potentially be an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s and dementia.

What could have been a threat to alcohol and the beverage industry, has now turned into one of the beverage’s biggest opportunities since hops met barley.

Both the cannabis and beverage industries saw dollar signs when Constellation Brands added a $4 billion investment to its already ample investment into Canopy Growth. The beverage biggie, that owns Corona, certainly turned heads as cannabis brands, and leading beverage companies began inking deals to ensure their brands showed up in drink coolers across the country. 

Headset recently came out with an extensive report examining the rapidly developing cannabis-infused beverages industry, stating that although beverages don’t make up the majority of cannabis product sales, they are “a category within cannabis that’s worth watching.” 

The Growth of Infused Beverages

While market share has experienced an incremental increase, the overall market for infused beverages has doubled, moving from $1.5 million to $3 million in 2019. 

Infused beverages sales are concentrated in Washington, Colorado, and Nevada. California will be next to enter the beverages race when Lagunita’s HiFi Hops hits the shelves. Most recently, in Q2 2019, Washington led in beverage sales ($4.2 million), followed by Colorado’s $3.9 million. 

What Are People Drinking?

Infused sodas are reigning supreme in the beverages category, gaining 3.9% of the overall beverages market share. Surprisingly, warm drinks like teas, coffee, and hot cocoas lost market share, as did Iced Tea, Lemonade and Fruit Drinks. Infused sodas accounted for 70% of Washington’s beverage sales in 2019, while in Colorado and Nevada, 18% and 26% of respective sales were represented by soda. 

“Mocktails” also made gains over the last year, but the impact is not yet significant enough to believe that cannabis will become an alcohol replacement drink, although Nevada can attribute 12% of beverage sales to cannabis mocktails, which is aligned with Vegas’ reputation as a party town.

Headset even went as deep to look at the flavors that people were preferring. In Washington, lemon, lime, orange, and apple flavors make up 52% of the infused soda market, with the rest of the flavors being made up of distinct fruit flavors like huckleberry, hibiscus, and honeydew, just to name a few. In Colorado, the majority of the soda consumers prefer a flavorless beverage (this is also because drops, mixes, elixirs, and syrups sell the most in this state); in California, they love the taste of cold tea; and in Nevada, Fruit Punch tickles the most palates. 

Headset attempted to compare the prices people are willing to pay for beverages across states, but couldn’t find any correlation. For example, Tea, Coffee, and Hot Cocoa are amongst the highest priced items in Nevada, but of the lowest-priced items in Washington. Headset speculates that there is a different brand landscape in each state that attributes to these nuances in what people are willing to pay.

Getting “Buzzed Over Stoned”

In 2017, 100mg THC infused products made up most of the market share at 90.9%; in 2019, it’s dropped 67.1% and has been replaced by microdosed formats in the 0-5mg range. This leads Headset to conclude that “consumers are more interested in getting buzzed than stoned.” If people are indeed using cannabis-infused beverages for alcohol-replacement, they are likely consuming multiple beverages in one sitting, as they do beer or wine. Despite speculation, Headset projects that there is “a lot of room for low dose beverages”.

The Who and Why of Infused Beverages

Perhaps surprising, the Silent Generation is the largest consumer of infused beverages in Colorado, while in Nevada, enjoyment of these beverages is more evenly distributed across age groups. It makes more sense when you remember that in Colorado, drops, mixes, elixirs and syrups are of the leading product categories, which makes it easy for people of the Silent Generation to easily dose cannabis in a cup of tea.

POS data collected by Headset suggests that cannabis-infused beverages are an impulse buy or an add-on item. People buying beverages are usually purchasing pre-rolls or edibles and throw in beverages as a last thought. Beverages are most commonly bought alongside edibles, suggesting that beverages are more appealing to those who do not prefer to smoke or combust their cannabis.

CBD is Having Its Moment

CBD infused beverages are currently holding at 25% of the infused beverages market share, according to Headset. With the passage of the U.S. Farm Bill of 2018, hemp-derived CBD products could be a threat to THC-infused beverages that can now be sold in coffee shops and retail stores.

Crack Open a Cold One

The cannabis-infused beverages market isn’t yet massive but shows a great opportunity for cannabis and CBD companies to get in on the ground. Headset has concluded through their analysis of 4 states that tracking and predicting data trends across states is not linear, and that piecemeal, state-by-state legalization affects sales. This shows that brands in individual states are shaping the markets of those states. Had cannabis been federally legalized, it would be easier to notice more consistencies across consumer preferences. 

Headset predicts that sodas will continue to grow, as will mocktails. People are now getting into lower dose beverages, recognizing that it’s rare that people can consume a 100mg beverage in one sitting. 

While Headset was reluctant to name cannabis-infused beverages as an alcohol replacement, several data points such as lower doses and the rise in popularity of sodas show that cannabis-infused beverages are becoming part of social circles and scenes.

Talking about the wider landscape of medicinal cannabis research and development in Malta, John Charles Ellul explains more.

John Charles Ellul serves as Advisor to the office of the Prime Minister in Malta. Attending the MJBiz European Cannabis Symposium in May, he emphasised the importance of the medicinal cannabis market to the island, along with the cannabis research and development.

On 6 May 2019, Health Europa attended the MJBiz European Cannabis Symposium in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the event, a panel led by Alfredo Pascual (International Analyst for Marijuana Business Daily) discussed the future of Cannabis in Europe, with an Advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister in Malta – John Charles Ellul – taking part.

Ellul serves as an Advisor for the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms, Citizenship and Simplification of Administrative Processes.1 Prior to his involvement in the cannabis industry he served in the army and later the police force, rising through the ranks to the prestigious role of senior inspector specialising in forensic laboratories during a career spanning 13 years and leading to multiple opportunities for him to explore his highly transferrable skills.2

In opening the panel discussion Pascual asked Ellul about the role of Malta in Europe in the wider landscape of medicinal cannabis reform, which he answered: “In Malta, we are looking into two dimensions which are very important –the legal aspect and the social and political perspective. We are combining these two elements in order to make sure that everything we do is to the benefit of the patient and the industry.”

Ellul went onto discuss how companies can become certified in Malta: “This is in the making – it’s a question of being a highly regulated market which needs to meet compliance in line with the highest standards of the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, rushing this would bring pain and damage to the industry. We need to ascertain that everything we are doing; we are doing within the parameters of the law. I think it’s only a matter of time before we see the first producers who will be fully fledged and licensed in Malta.”

Europe: the largest future market

Continuing his contribution Elllul added: “Malta is a very small country, so the investment does not merit the [potential] consumption. The market is intended for beyond our shores, and even the scale of the operations that the investors are looking at are quite considerable. For investors to investigate such considerable investment, it is obvious that the European market has a future of growth, which in my opinion is in the near future. I am sure that other states in the European Union will follow suit, and perhaps we might also have European homogeneity within the European legislation. I see the European market being one of the biggest markets in the future.”

Ellul then went on to address what needs to be solved, and how Malta can achieve this: “The aspect of the lack of knowledge and education of the substance, is a curve that we need to inject more education into in order to remove the elephant from the room which is unnecessary fear of legalisation. Once we manage to tear down that wall, I think it is something that many other countries will follow.”

A unique standing in the industry

Expanding on why Malta already has the ideal framework to build a flourishing medical cannabis industry, Ellul added “as it has been said, expertise is one of the most important and critical aspects, but it needs to align with the expertise of the European pharmaceutical industry. Malta is very well aligned – the pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest industries in Malta. The investment is only a question of whether you have a local operator who has already got everything required to start up and see the company grow, or to align with a foreign company, acquire a brand name and synergise to have something on the market.

“Again, in the first move, advantage plays a huge role in this business. The way the market is being shaped, and the way the market is being developed in such a way, I think there is room for quite a good number of players. The industry will not be restricted to a small number of players, so it therefore depends on how creative the formulations can be, how strong the research is, and the investment into research and development. I think these aspects will be a game changer in this industry.

“I also think there are two facets to this story – one is providing the impulse of the need for THC and all the other formulations that come with this, and then the specifics of having those targeted formulations which can be prescribed for a specific reason. When you look at these two together then the competition will start shaping itself in such a way that obviously those who put the most into research and development, will have a unique standing in the industry.”

Collaboration across Europe

Continuing, Pascual went onto ask Ellul “When you want to get a pharmaceutical expert to work in a cannabis company, do you need to pay more than the pharmaceutical industry to get the best people, or do you find that they actually want to do something new and exciting?” Ellul responded with: “It is a sparse resource, let’s put it that way. This level of expertise is not available off the shelf. Finding a person with the necessary ingredients and qualifications is very important and it is [like finding] a jewel in the industry. In Malta, we cannot boast that we have an abundance of this resource, but the limited resources that we do have [are people] who are very highly qualified and specialised in this field.

“We have the luxury of knowing each other in the industry, and perhaps this pooling or sharing of resources facilitates the operators in Malta. Obviously, the more the numbers grow, it might require importing expertise or experts from Denmark for example. This is something in the equation where there is room for anyone to play in this industry, and we see our professions moving to other countries abroad, and professions and foreigners coming to Malta to work in the industry for the same reason.

“The mobility of human resources now is no longer a concern, unless you need your own homegrown expertise. Obviously having your own, is an advantage because it gives you more flexibility but there’s no restriction in having more as it is creating opportunities for whoever is in this industry” he concluded.

The current legal situation in Malta

The medical cannabis industry is regulated by the Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Research Purposes Act which came into effect on April 17 2018. The Act describes cannabis as:

1. Fresh or dried cannabis;
2. Cannabis oil;
3. Cannabis plant or seeds;
4. Derivatives of cannabis; and, or
5. Any substance and, or product set out in guidelines issued by the regulatory authority to be used exclusively for manufacturing of products for medical use.3

The legislation introduced “the possibility of producing cannabis in Malta however, such production is limited solely to medicinal and research purposes within a regulated and controlled environment. It accentuates that no form of cultivation, importation or processing of cannabis and no production or trade of any products intended for medicinal and/or research purposes deriving from or resulting from the use of cannabis shall be carried out in Malta unless all the necessary approvals, authorisations, licences and, or permits are granted by the Medicines Authority.

“Furthermore, a manufacturing company operating in Malta within the medicinal and research cannabis space, needs to satisfy the Good Manufacturing Practices (‘GMP’) requirements. These requirements are mainly concerned with production and quality control. Applicants are also required to comply with the Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Research Purposes (Fees) Regulations, (the ‘Fees Regulation’). The Fees Regulation states that the Medicines Authority shall receive the specified fees, from persons intending to apply to carry out importation, wholesale distribution, cultivation and processing, and/or production of cannabis for medicinal use and/or research purposes.4

References

1. https://mjbizconference.com/speaker/john-charles-ellul/
2. https://www.maltachamber.org.mt/en/john-charles-ellul—the-ceo-has-to-carry-a-dream-and-be-a-driver-for-change
3. http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lp&itemid=28891&l=1
4. https://www.fff-legal.com/the-production-of-cannabis-for-medicinal-and-research-purposes-in-malta/

The cannabis industry has grown in leaps and bounds following the legalization boom, and is currently worth $10 billion and employs 250,000 people in the U.S. alone. By 2017, marijuana-related stocks skyrocketed, becoming the hot topic among investors. Further driving this point home, cannabis-investement group Arcview and BDS Analytics have estimated that sales will grow 38 percent to $16.9 billion by the end this calendar year. 

These stats are impressive and are no doubt urged on by continued expansion of legalization for both medical and recreational use. But there has also been a sharp growth in interest following the demystification of many concerns about CBD oil’s side effects. However, there is still a big distinction between the cultivation aspect of the business, e.g. opening dispensaries, and trading shares in cannabis companies.

That being said, tech and the internet can help you exploit the industry's margins (though we strongly recommend you acquaint yourself with federal and state laws and regulations first), especially if you are an individual with shallower pockets than those of major players. Below are a select few.

1. Sell cannabis-related paraphernalia online. 

It's not uncommon to see cannabis-inspired artwork, t-shirts, dog collars, glassware, ashtrays and other items displayed on sites like Etsy. The cheapest way to make a business out of this movement is to start an e-commerce store where you can sell hand-made accessories or re-sell stuff you find online if craftsmanship isn’t your forté.

You can also sell edibles like cannabis-infused snacks like teas, hash browns, pies and even cakes! One other viable option gaining popularity is cannabis-infused cosmetics and body products, as research continues to reveal the plant's antiviral and antibacterial properties.

If you decide to sell wearables like T-shirts, neck scarves, hats or bags, print-on-demand platforms like Teespring and Cafepress are seamless options that allow you to make a profit with little or no overhead costs; these companies just take a percentage off sales, remitting the remaining earnings to you.

2. Develop cannabis-related content.

This could mean starting a website or blog that reports on cannabis events and legal developments. Royal CBD is an example of a company that has become a go-to for accurate information on various CBD products and their use, helping provide clarity in an industry that doesn't always promote transparency as a cornerstone focus. You could also create a cannabis product-review site, though you would need to have significant knowledge to help consumers make informed decisions. This is also a great way to leverage expertise as a means to secure consulting relationships with companies looking for guidance.

3. Start an online cannabis-consulting practice.

This option is largely for those who have a legal degree and are willing to jump on the bandwagon and make a profit. Starting a virtual law firm is the cheapest way to go about entering this aspect of the market. Not that it's a walk in the park, but all you need to launch is knowledge in a field where demand exists, e.g. FDA compliance for hemp-derived CBD businesses, and you’re off to the races.

Diverse legal regulations are governing the production, handling and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products. These regulations also extend to how it's marketed and consumed, and they are so dynamic that they vary across the entire country. Businesses will certainly be willing to pay for legal advice and consulting, especially for partners and firms with this niche area of experience.
Related: How to Start a Cannabis-Focused Branding and Design Business

4. Start developing apps, websites and software.

As expected, there has been a sudden proliferation of online resources that cater to the cannabis industry, ranging from online apps that connect farmers with dispensaries to software that helps companies market their cannabis-related products. LeafLink, for example, offers a technology platform that connects brands with retailers, and MassRoots provides maps of local dispensaries to recreational and medicinal cannabis consumers alike. Last but not least, Kannatopia has taken the long road in creating the "Facebook of pot," a social media platform that connects marijuana users with businesses in the industry. Being able to market your background as a freelance app developer for cannabis-based businesses is sure to provide dividends in the short term as well as down the road as this boom continues. 

These ideas may not seem like the most financially rewarding way into the cannabis biz, but when implemented properly, they could become a viable new income stream that allows you to sidestep some legal restrictions while pivoting your skillset into a rising industry.